The invention relates to a jacket for the personal protection of an infantryman or foot-soldier, compatible with anti-shrapnel protection, and enabling a reduction of the infantryman's radar and infrared signature.
The field of application of the present invention relates to jackets for the personal protection of infantrymen in operation on a battlefield.
Personal protection is based today solely on protection against shrapnel from projectiles, discretion in the field of the visible frequencies and NBC (nuclear, biological and chemical) protection.
For providing anti-shrapnel protection, there are known ways of using metal structures. This approach is being increasingly replaced by one that uses composite structures based on aramide or polyamide fibers.
The two regions of the human body to be protected are the head by means of a helmet and the trunk by means of a vest. As for the reduction of the signature in the domain of the visible frequencies, this form of protection relies chiefly on a conventional type of disruptive or camouflage painting. This camouflage painting may be made on a fabric and have a 2D appearance on a fabric or it may be on a camouflage net and have a 3D appearance.
During a mission of penetration behind enemy lines, the infantryman may be faced with a threat of radar and/or infrared detection. The type of radar threat considered in the present invention is a two-fold threat: a first threat comes from a battlefield monitoring radar working typically at about 10 GHz and a second threat comes from a target-designation radar working typically in the 36 to 37 GHz band. These two types of radar have a range of about 10 to 20 km. The range of the first type is about 7 km for an individual and about 15 km for a vehicle. As for the second type of radar, it is more specifically used for the designation of vehicles but is sometimes a real threat to infantrymen.
Presently known systems of personal protection for infantrymen cannot be used to protect them against such threats.